sustainable plastic packaging: can metallized films be ...€¦ · pepsico, the coca-cola company,...

AIMCAL R2R USAOct. 6 - 9, 2019

Presented byDante FerrariPresented byDante Ferrari

Dante FerrariCelplast Metallized Products Limited

Sustainable Plastic Packaging:Can Metallized Films be Part of the

Solution?



OUTLINE

IntroductionFood packaging – what do we value?A sustainable worldMeeting the sustainable packaging goal

Metallized Films Compostable solutionsRecyclable solutions

In-Line Vacuum Metallized & Top-Coated FilmsThe in-line metallizing & top-coating processCompostable solutionsRecyclable solutions

Conclusions2


Presented byDante Ferrari

INTRODUCTION

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FOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?It protects our food

The food waste problem:In North America, we waste 168 million MT/year of food1US & Canada: 400 kg per person each year1In Europe, 88 million MT/year (173 kg/person) is wasted2These numbers pale in comparison to Asia, where 53% of the world’s food waste occurs 3

China/Japan/South Korea = 28%Rest of Asia = 25%

Packaging significantly reduces food wasteOn average, food uses 10x the resources, and has 21x the carbon footprint of its packaging 4

1 The Commission for Environmental Cooperation, April 4, 2018 https://www.waste360.com/food-waste/report-examines-state-food-loss-and-waste-north-america2 FUSIONS EU project, March 31, 2016 https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste_en3 Food Navigator Asia, Sept. 18, 2018 https://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2018/09/19/Is-technology-the-answer-to-solving-Asia-s-food-waste-crisis4 ACC bulletin, from INCPEN, 2017 https://plastics.americanchemistry.com/fact-sheets-and-infographics/Reducing-Food-Waste-Through-Plastic-Packaging.pdf

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https://www.waste360.com/food-waste/report-examines-state-food-loss-and-waste-north-americahttps://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_waste_enhttps://www.foodnavigator-asia.com/Article/2018/09/19/Is-technology-the-answer-to-solving-Asia-s-food-waste-crisishttps://plastics.americanchemistry.com/fact-sheets-and-infographics/Reducing-Food-Waste-Through-Plastic-Packaging.pdf



FOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?

Communicates the brand value propositionCommunicates regulatory/nutritional informationWith the most convenient easy-open & reclose featuresWith the lowest environmental impact

Carbon footprintWater usageLow waste manufacturingPost-consumer recycle contentCompostable/recyclable

At the lowest possible cost

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FOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?

What meets most of these criteria? Plastic packaging! … especially flexibles

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A SUSTAINABLE WORLDThe world population continues to grow, although the rate of growth is slowing

7.7 billion in 2019, forecast of 9 billion by 2048Rising living standards, especially in Asia

The burden on our planet’s resources will continue to increase at a rate higher than population growth

As the developed world’s demographics shift towards millennials, society is becoming less materialistic, more concern for social issuesPlastic packaging is a target:

Highly visible, ubiquitousMostly single useThe “garbage patch” in the Pacific Ocean has captured the public’s imagination

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A SUSTAINABLE WORLDThe word “sustainable” becomes ubiquitous

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A SUSTAINABLE WORLDMany different definitions appear, each with their own supporters and claims:

Low carbon footprintLow water or energy usageZero waste manufacturingIndustrial compostableBackyard compostableMarine degradableOxo-biodegradableRenewable resource basedPost-consumer recycleWaste -to-energy

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A SUSTAINABLE WORLDDec. 13, 2017: the Ellen Macarthur Foundation published “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics & catalysing action”1Jan. 22, 2018: 11 global brand owners, retailers and packaging companies committed to working towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlier: Amcor, Ecover, Evian, L’Oréal, Mars, M&S, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Walmart, and Werner & Mertz 2Jan 24-25, 2018: announcements officially made by each company at the Davos World Economic Forum in SwitzerlandWithin 6 months, several other major brands joined the initiative, including Nestle, Mondelez, General Mills, P&G and KraftHeinz

1 https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-catalysing-action2 https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/11-companies-take-major-step-towards-a-new-plastics-economy

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https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics-catalysing-actionhttps://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/news/11-companies-take-major-step-towards-a-new-plastics-economy



MEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOAL

The goal: 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlierMany different approaches:

PepsiCo/Frito Lay: developing all PE based packaging for North America, all polyolefin based for EU, compostable for India, other countries that don’t have recycling infrastructureNestle: Recyclable in North America, compostable in Europe, where infrastructure existsGeneral Mills: Corporate goal pushed out, but Annie’s brand is more aggressively trying to hit targetsConAgra, Clif Bar, Mondelez: Still exploring both compostable & recyclable options

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The goal: 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 or earlierReusable options are very limited right now, usually through 3rd party like Loop or TerraCycleQualification process for compostable: well established, get certified through BPI 1, ASTM D6400 or other global equivalent test methodQualification process for recyclable pouches: still being developed

CEFLEX working group in EUSPC’s GreenBlue How2Recycle program in NACircular Economy Asia’s APPA initiative in Asia

1 https://www.bpiworld.org/12

https://www.bpiworld.org/




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The evolution of all-PE pouch structuresGraphic courtesy of CharterNEX Films



MEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALHow2Recycle® Label program:Material is collected at Store Drop-Off locations and then processed at PE film reclaimers, before being used to make plastic bags or other products

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MEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALHow2Recycle® Label program:One of these end-users has been Trex®, producers of synthetic lumber; top-coated metallized PE has passed their melting point test, is acceptable for use in this end use streamRecently, Trex® has expressed concerns over dealing with cross-contamination coming from plastic pouchesTo test other potential recycle streams, Celplast partnered with CharterNEX to put metallized PE through a reclaim process and then re-extrude film with it:

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MEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMetal detection equipment:

SESOTEC – Gives an absolute reading, anything above “8” is kicked out

ERIEZ – Requires establishing correlations between package types and detection signal, to establish a “sphere size”

Most small metallized pouches passMost foil pouches fail, but so do many larger metallized pouchesNeed to establish new test methods

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For barrier packaging, different barrier requirements for different applications:

Also a range of required laminated bond strengths, ranging from 50 – 500 g/25 mm

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Barrier measure OTR (cc/m2/day)@ 23 C, 50%RHWVTR (g/m2/day)

@ 38 C, 90%RH

Confectionary < 15 < 15

MAP, for cured meats & cheeses < 5 < 5

Liquid packaging, coffee < 1 < 2

Dry cereals, powders, snack foods < 5 < 1



METALLIZED FILMS

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COMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONS

Many potential options, but PLA is currently the most commercially viable, with a well-established supply chain & performance historyUncoated PLA has terrible barrier properties, and is considered a “breathable” filmResults reported here are on 25 micron BOPLACellulosic films are also an option, but are not as economical; will not be discussed here

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COMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONS

Issue #1: Metallized PLA heat distortionDue to heat sensitivity of PLA, metallizing will generally lead to heat distortion lines, creating visual & barrier defects:

By optimizing tension controls and heat load, can eliminate lines and achieve improved barrier:

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@ 38 C, 90%RH

Range with lines 15 – 20 7 – 12

Range without lines 7 - 9 4 - 6



COMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONSIssue #2: Metallized PLA Metal adhesion

Due to oligomers & additives in most commercial PLA film, it inherently has poor metal adhesionWe attempted to optimize bonds through plasma pre-treatment:

1 Metal-to-PLA bonds tested using benchtop adhesive lamination to clear PET, with Dow 577/577B, Celplast test method MA-2, Std. Dev. ~ 20

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Gas Type Plasma Settings Bond1 (g /25 mm)

N/A No plasma 30

Standard 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 50Test Gas 1 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 80Test Gas 2 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 40

Test Gas 2 9.0 kW, 35 L/min 50

Test Gas 2 9.0 kW, 53 L/min 50



RECYCLABLE SOLUTIONS

Many potential options, but for metallizing, most work is currently carried out on PE filmsPE film can give suitable ultimate seal strengths and be part of an overall structure that passes the How2Recycle® program requirementsPE films can contain low levels of EVOH and still pass the How2Recycle® testing protocolResults reported are on 37 or 50 micron PE sealantsBOPP films will not meet the requirements of the How2Recycle® program, so will require a separate, yet to be established (in NA) recycling stream

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RECYCLABLE SOLUTIONS

Issue #1 – Metallized PE Sealant BarrierPE films are not as heat sensitive as PLA, but are more prone to extensibility in the metallizing process, so again require carefully optimized tension controls and web handlingO2 barrier layer can enhance oxygen barrier for applications that require it

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Film & process OTR (cc/m2/day)@ 23 C, 50%RHWVTR (g/m2/day)

@ 38 C, 90%RH

Poor tension control, regular PE sealant film 500 10

Good tension control, regular PE sealant film 300 1.0

Good tension control, PE with O2 barrier 1.0 1.1



RECYCLABLE SOLUTIONSIssue #2: Metallized PE Sealant Metal adhesion

Require a well-designed co-ex PE, with a metal receptive outer layer on the non-sealant side and non-migratory slip on sealant side to startEven then, metal-to-film bond requires optimization through plasma pre-treatment:

1 Metal-to-PE bonds tested using benchtop adhesive lamination to clear PET, with Dow 577/577B, Celplast test method MA-2, Std. Dev. ~ 90

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Gas Type Plasma Settings Bond1 (g /25 mm)

N/A No plasma 150

Standard 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 200Test Gas 1 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 210Test Gas 2 8.0 kW, 35 L/min 630Test Gas 2 9.0 kW, 35 L/min 360Test Gas 2 9.0 kW, 53 L/min 440



IN-LINE VACUUM METALLIZED & TOP-COATED FILMS

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THE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESS

Won 2010 AIMCAL Technology of the Year Award

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In Line TopCoat Process



THE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESS

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Annual capacity: 6 kT/yearCoating width: up to 2.5 mCoating speed: up to 6 m/s



THE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESS – COATING PROPERTIES

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Visual appearanceConsistent, satin appearance on metal

Cure levelMust pass 30 IPA rubsQualitative test, cross-reference with process controls

Surface energyConsistently 40+ dynes

Food ContactCompliant with FDA, EU, Swiss Ordinance & CFIA food contact standards



HIGH BARRIER COMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONS

Higher barrier PLA - heat distortion revisitedDue to extra heat load generated by E-beams, we saw a return of the heat distortion lines, creating visual & barrier defectsOnce again, by optimizing tension controls and heat load, we were able to eliminate lines and achieve good barrier:

Suitable for most barrier packaging applications, including liquid packaging, coffee packaging, dry snack foods

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@ 38 C, 90%RHTop-coated film range

with lines(met only in brackets)

1.8 – 7.4(15 – 20)

1.7 – 2.0(7 – 12)

Top-coated film range without lines

(met only in brackets)

0.45 – 0.54(7 – 9)

0.77 – 0.82(4 – 6)



HIGH BARRIER RECYCLABLE SOLUTIONS

Higher Barrier PE SealantsPE films are not as heat sensitive as PLA, so have run through our metallizing & top-coating process without major issues

Again, these are suitable for most barrier packagesThese films have passed the first stage of How2Recycle testing, namely the TREX melting performance tests

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@ 38 C, 90%RHRegular PE sealant film with metal + top-coat (met only in brackets)

10(~ 300)

0.5(1.0)

PE with O2 barrier, with metal + top-coat (met only in brackets)

0.6(1.0)

0.4(1.1)



HIGH BARRIER RECYCLE-READY SOLUTIONSHigh Barrier BOPP Sealants

BOPP films have been run through our metallizing & top-coating process as wellDifferent gauges evaluated, with similar resultsNo EVOH or other barrier layer on or in these sealant films

These are suitable for many snack food applications, but have limited use in NA with current lack of recycling infrastructure for PP-based pouches

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@ 38 C, 90%RH18 & 30 micron BOPP

sealant film with metal + top-coat (met only in

brackets)

2.5(55)

0.12(0.40)



CONCLUSIONS

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CONCLUSIONS

Market requirements for compostable packagingThere are well established composting standards, and in the composting process there is no metal detection sortation required, so this is ideal for metallized filmsOnly a limited number of applications currently, due to limited availability & cost of PLA and other compostable filmsCould have wider applicability in the developing world, where recycling infrastructures are not well established yet

High barrier compostable packagingWe have been able to achieve very good barrier & bond performance with metallized and top-coated PLA films, making it technically suitable for many applications

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CONCLUSIONS

Market requirements for recyclable packagingThere are established for many clear applications, where melting & re-extrusion characteristics are most importantNo metal detection sortation standards have been established yet, still under developmentMany potential applications, particularly since metallized PE sealant films offer layer elimination opportunities

High barrier recyclable packagingWe have been able to achieve very good barrier & bond performance with metallized and top-coated PE sealant films, both with & without EVOH layersCurrently investigating BO-PE as middle layer in 3-ply barrier packaging structures, but this film is just becoming commercialWork completed on BOPP sealants as well, although recycling infrastructure not yet ready

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SPECIAL THANKS

The Celplast lab for carrying out all testingBi-Ax International for supplying PLA filmCharterNEX Films for supplying the PE films,

and Aaron LaPointe for coordinating the reprocessing trials

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DANTE FERRARIOFFICE – 416-644-3507

CELL – 416-918-8790E-MAIL – [email protected] – www.celplast.com

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mailto:[email protected]://www.celplast.com/

Slide Number 1OUTLINEINTRODUCTIONFOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?FOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?FOOD PACKAGING – WHAT DO WE VALUE?A SUSTAINABLE WORLDA SUSTAINABLE WORLDA SUSTAINABLE WORLDA SUSTAINABLE WORLDMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMEETING THE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING GOALMETALLIZED FILMSCOMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONSCOMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONSCOMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONSRECYCLABLE SOLUTIONSRECYCLABLE SOLUTIONSRECYCLABLE SOLUTIONSIN-LINE VACUUM METALLIZED & TOP-COATED FILMSTHE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESSTHE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESSTHE IN-LINE METALLIZING & TOP-COATING PROCESS – COATING PROPERTIESHIGH BARRIER COMPOSTABLE SOLUTIONSHIGH BARRIER RECYCLABLE SOLUTIONSHIGH BARRIER RECYCLE-READY SOLUTIONSCONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONSSPECIAL THANKS�DANTE FERRARI�OFFICE – 416-644-3507�CELL – 416-918-8790�E-MAIL – [email protected]�Website – www.celplast.com

sustainable plastic packaging: can metallized films be ...€¦ · pepsico, the coca-cola company,...

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